


Nowhere to Run

by Spurlunk



Category: Hunger Games (2012), Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Angst, Male-Female Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-08
Updated: 2012-04-08
Packaged: 2017-11-03 07:22:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/378804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spurlunk/pseuds/Spurlunk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prim and Gale during The Hunger Games when Katniss is gone and everything feels a little emptier.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nowhere to Run

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even know what this is. I just have a lot of feelings.

The worst part was that Prim was relieved it wasn't her. She was a healer, not a hunter, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was that no matter how much she loved her sister, a disturbing part of her was happy that she had escaped the Hunger Games, even if that meant that Katniss was now on the way to prepare to fight to the death.

When Gale carried her away, he put her back with all the other girls, and they stood a few paces away from her like she was afflicted with a contagious disease. When they called the baker's son as male tribute, Prim wondered if Gale was relieved or angry. She saw her sister standing on that stage, stoic and strong, and all she wanted to do was hug her and have Katniss tell her that everything was going to be okay. 

The Capitol ensured that every home had a television to watch the Hunger Games on. There were also some big screens set up near the square, the same place they had all gathered to hear the selection of the Tributes a few days ago. Prim and her mother didn't go there, they stayed in their house and watched on the old flickering TV that had probably been made when Buttercup's grandmother had been alive. The house was quiet and empty. 

Gale came by sometimes, bringing squirrels or rabbits for dinner. He was big and took up a lot of space, but somehow things were even more uncomfortable when he was there. Sometimes he brought his mother and siblings along to help Prim and her mother prepare the food. The other Tribute's father, Mr. Mellark, brought over fresh bread sometimes, though he never stayed for dinner no matter how much Prim's mother insisted. Things were better when there were more people in their tiny little house, more distractions - but there was no way to escape the fact that the only reason they had all come together was Katniss.

When Katniss was alone and hungry in her perch in a tree, Prim thought about what could have been. She loved her sister, and her sister loved her back, there was no question about that, but they didn't actually spend that much time together. Yes, Katniss tucked Prim into bed when their mother never would, and she provided for them when they would have otherwise starved, but during the day Prim went to school and Katniss went hunting with Gale.

As the Hunger Games went on, Prim noticed that Gale never actually watched them. He would bring food and sometimes even stay for a bit to eat with them, but he was never in the house when the television was on. Prim asked Mrs. Hawthorne how he was doing one evening, and she said that he was taking it pretty hard but did not elaborate.

Prim decided to go over to the Hawthornes' house early in the morning, just after sunrise. She found a pair of Katniss' old boots, a little too big for her smaller feet but comfortable nonetheless, and shrugged on a blue dress that was threadbare and worn in some places, fingering the hole on one sleeve. She walked outside, shushing Buttercup and closing the door behind her. She lurked in the scrubby bushes outside the Hawthornes' window, and eventually she saw Gale's large figure head out slowly and quietly to the woods. She followed him, making sure to keep a safe distance between them, though she did hesitate when she saw Gale slip under the electric fence. She ducked through after him, a bit of wire catching on her dress and ripping another hole. Now she knew why her sister wore their father's leather jacket when she went hunting. 

Prim followed Gale through the woods to a clearing on a hill. He sat down against a mossy rock, facing away from the Seam and out towards the wilderness stretching out in front of them. When he called her name, Prim nearly jumped a foot in surprise.

"Come out Prim, I know you've been following me," he said.

"I'll leave if you want to be alone," Prim said, walking out from the tree she had been hiding behind. Gale turned around and smiled at her, but it didn't reach his eyes and she was gripped with a sudden jolt of sadness that pulled at her insides so hard she thought she might cry.

"No, it's fine, you came all this way. Sit down," he said, patting the ground next to him. She walked around the rock to sit next to him, adjusting her dress as she did so. She detected a hint of amusement as he took in her old dress and too-big clunky boots, but he didn't say anything and she was grateful.

They just sat there for a few minutes. Gale seemed lost in thought and Prim didn't want to interrupt him any more than she already had. It was beautiful, completely silent except for the rustling of the wind in the leaves and the ocassional birdsong. She wondered if Katniss regretted volunteering for her. Prim still wouldn't want to trade places, and she thought that probably made her a bad sister and worse person.

"Your sister and I used to come here a lot." Gale said, breaking the silence.

"After you hunted?" Prim asked.

"We would talk about...things. It was mostly me talking."

"Katniss isn't very good with words. She's better with her bow," Prim said. Gale nodded.

"It's just nice to go somewhere the Capitol can't hear you," he said. 

"Katniss can't do anything without the Capitol knowing."

"That's how it will be for her for the rest of her life." Gale said. He had picked up a small stone and was relentlessly mashing it into the dirt, his knuckles white with pressure. He didn't seem to realize he was doing it. Prim shivered, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. She picked idly at the worn leather of her brown boots. It was nice to be treated like an equal, like she mattered even though she was small and young and forever Katniss Everdeen's little sister.

"Don't you ever just get - frustrated with it all?" Gale said suddenly. 

"Sometimes, but it's really not that bad." Prim replied with a small shrug. Gale looked at her, completely incredulous.

"Things are...the way they are. You just have to adapt and deal with what life gives you. Help make things better in whatever way you can, using whatever resource you've got," she said.

Gale just looked at her. She couldn't read his expression. After a few moments of silence he finally spoke.

"I'm not like that. I can't - I can't just sit back and watch. When the Hunger Games are over - when Katniss - we're leaving. We're running away, out into the forest, and never coming back."

"Does - does Katniss want to go too?"

"She won't leave you behind." Gale said. 

It was Prim's fault of course. Again. 

"I'd better get you home before your mother finds out you're missing." Gale said, standing up and helping Prim to her feet. They walked back together in silence. Prim picked up the basket of warm, still-steaming bread left by the Mellarks on her doorstep and took it inside, waking her mother up for breakfast.


End file.
